Frequently Asked Questions

Fire in a building creates a lot of heat and smoke. In many cases, firefighters must remove the heat and smoke before they can get close enough to put out the fire. Heat and smoke rise, so cutting a hole in the roof and breaking out windows in planned locations allows the smoke to vent upwards, allowing cool air to enter the building from below. This is called “ventilation”. It also improves visibility and lowers heat conditions for the firefighters inside, allowing them to quickly and safely extinguish the fire. Remember, heat and smoke can cause extensive damage; ventilation will actually reduce overall damage to a building and contents.

Firefighters pay for and cook their own food. They usually plan their meals together as a team. The company goes to the store together and stays together ready to respond if needed. If they receive a call for a fire or ambulance they drop what they are doing and head to the call together.

Fire engines respond with ambulances to provide assistance at the emergency scene. At times additional personnel are required to perform life-sustaining procedures or perform additional tasks such as at vehicle accidents. All District personnel are medically trained with all of our engine companies staffed with paramedics. The paramedic engines are able to perform the same Advanced Life Support treatment(s) as our ambulances.

We are a large district and occasionally we will have two or three calls for the ambulance at one time. If all of our ambulances are busy, we will dispatch an ambulance from the next available town. The Mutual Aid Agreement works both ways; therefore, Tri-State ambulances can be dispatched to assist others towns as well. You may see ambulances and equipment from Westmont, Darien-Woodridge, Lemont, Clarendon Hills, Hinsdale, Pleasantview and Willow Springs.

House numbers that are easy to find and easy to read are one of the best safety features that your home or business can have. Valuable property and lives can be saved simply by posting adequate house numbers where emergency personnel can find them. All homes and businesses should be properly identified with large easy-to-read address numbers. This makes it easy for emergency vehicles to find the location without wasting time. Numbers must be on the house in an area easily seen from the street. They should be at least 4 inches high, in a contrasting color to your house. In an emergency every second counts, so make sure your house numbers can be seen from the street.

The two common types of smoke detectors found in residential homes are ionization and photoelectric detectors. Ionization smoke detectors contain a very minute amount of radioactive material known as Americium 241. Photoelectric type smoke detectors do not contain any radioactive material. The amount of radioactive material contained in ionization smoke detectors is so small it does not pose a risk to human health, however many local governments prohibit the disposal of ionization smoke detectors into the municipal waste stream. Click here for information on disposing of smoke detectors. Also check the DuPage County Recycling page here.

Contact the product manufacturer to see if there is a recycling program in effect. Fire extinguishers are under pressure, and have the potential to explode in combination with some materials. They cannot be discarded curbside. Fire extinguishers can be dropped off at the Naperville Household Hazardous Waste drop-off facility subject to their hours of operation. Click here for the facility’s website. Also check the DuPage County Recycling page here.

Unwanted medications excluding controlled substances, can be dropped off at the DuPage County Rx Box located at the Burr Ridge Police Department 7660 County Line Road. Do not dispose of unwanted medications in the normal trash or by flushing down the toilet. For more information go to the DuPage County Rx Box Program website.

Tri-State is Dispatched by Addison Consolidated Dispatch Center

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Fire Safety Tip

When home fire sprinklers are used with working smoke alarms, your chances of surviving a fire are greatly increased. Sprinklers are affordable - they can increase property value and lower insurance rates.

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